Tuesday, 9 July 2013

Vaadat Charigim - The World Is Well Lost

Album review by bloopie@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

I'm a big fan of the shoegaze genre. It is a special school of music where shy and introverted rock artists can really shine. Hiding behind the hazy sound of their distant guitars and blurry vocals, talented rockers can feel comfortable enough to brood and explore their inner worlds. No wonder the genre was termed in reference to its timid and self-conscious stage performers, mocked for standing frozen and staring down at their effects pedals during live shows. Vaadat Charigim (Hebrew for "Exceptions Committee") are a new indie shoegaze band from Israel, comprising of trio Dan Bloch, Yuval Haring and Yuval Guttmann. They will be releasing their debut 8-track LP through Tel Aviv-based indie label Anova Music on July 20.

This isn't the type of shoegaze that is so dark and melancholic that it remains unapproachable for most. While the production makes heavy use of the traditional genre effects (distortion, delay and reverb), the soundscape isn't purely melancholic and sometimes feels delicate enough to even be categorized as dreampop. 'Odisea', the first track, really sets the tone for the rest of the album. The band's sound is beautifully characterized with just this one track that combines elements of shoegaze, rock, indie and pop. I can imagine that even those without an affinity towards shoegaze can enjoy this. The guitars are nicely layered, faraway and coolly drifting in space in ethereal fashion.

The production is polished and impressive, both in sound consistency and the lushness of the textures. 'Lehitorer Velo Lada'at' and 'Ze Beseder Lefahed', which reminds me a poppy Cure song, are two of the best tracks here and are very much worth a listen. All in all, this is a cracking debut album from the Israeli trio. They've given life to a shoegaze album that doesn't come off as pretentious, and succeeded in creating a dreamlike landscape of reverberating guitars and echoing vocals that feels airy and atmospheric thanks to a fine production.